Activities:

Splash Pad

The Splash Pad was built in 2015 as a joint effort between the Noon Rotary, City of Walla Walla, Commitment to Community and residents. It is the first one of its kind in Washington State.

Children's Day

Every April, C2C and the Washington Park neighborhood host the Dia de los Niños, or "Children's Day," in Washington Park. This event has grown to encompass the whole community and includes much good food, music, dancing, games, and local partners offering information and services to those in attendance, as well as activities for children.

Christmas Event

Since 2006, Washington Park has held a Christmas party in the Housing Authority gym every December. It is a lovely event with neighbors bringing homemade tamales and lots of games for the children in the neighborhoods. Santa always makes an appearance too, helping to achieve the goal of the event: to provide a gift to all the children in attendance.

Murals

“C2C is not an organization that works independent of the local neighborhood. Rather, it seeks to bring people together and empower them to take control of their neighborhood. One way C2C has helped to bring community members together was to paint murals at the underpasses of Highway 12 on 13th and 9th Streets. The murals were really a device to get people to work together. The interesting thing is that the children were really intimidated by art because they had never done anything this big, but once they got started, they got really into it. It was a vehicle for building relationships." ~ Federico Diaz, former Neighborhood Outreach Organizer

Helping to maintain the murals and keep the underpasses clean is another way C2C continues to bring neighbors together around a common goal.

History

The Washington Park neighborhood was the third and largest neighborhood taken on by C2C, beginning with the Children's Art Wall and followed by the installation of playground equipment. Both projects were completed by the Sherwood Community Leadership Classes of 2005 and 2006. The Art Wall created the first sense of neighborhood connection. Of the three neighborhoods, this one has the highest ethnic diversity and a larger concentration of youth.

Sidewalk Repair

During the summer of 2009 in the Washington Park area, neighbors partnered with neighborhood organizer Federico Díaz to repair sidewalks and remove dead trees. Throughout the summer heat, a small work crew could be seen on different blocks —N.7th, 6th, Pine Streets— jack-hammering, pounding gravel, and smoothing concrete.

Washington Park Project (Common Gathering Place)

C2C was lucky enough to welcome Milenko Matanovich with his team from the Pomegranate Center to Walla Walla for a third time in 2010. “The personality of a community springs to life when local residents come together to create a place of significance that will bring them together over and over again,” stated Milenko. In February 2010, with the help of Milenko, the neighbors in Washington Park started the process of enhancing the park. With the neighbors, Milenko and his team have helped create a plan to bring a stage, outdoor dance floor, seating, picnic places, and walking paths to the park. Pomegranate Center works with local residents to discover their inherent talents and imagine a place that welcomes everyone. C2C, in partnership with the City of Walla Walla Parks & Recreation Department, neighborhood volunteers, and the Pomegranate Center staff built the new “ Gathering Place ” at WA Park the week of September 11-19, 2010.